When I taught in China, my agent provided clear instructions on how to teach English. “Have them repeat vocabulary lists. Hundreds of words. Every day.” The students were accustomed to this method. They chanted words in unison and copied them down line after line. On quizzes, many could recognize the words. To my agent, it appeared to be progress. However, when those same students sat down to read real texts, their reading comprehension hadn’t improved. So, I decided to chang

If you’ve ever taught newcomer MLs, you’ve seen the same heartbreaking loop in their content area classes: They sit. They listen. They watch. And, oh so often, they try. That is, until they realize they are getting nowhere. Newcomers don’t have the language to enter the lesson. When students can’t enter learning, they can’t grow in it. They fall behind — not because they can’t learn, but because school is happening around them, not with them. The truth is this: Level 1 stu

Over the past several years, I’ve noticed something about multilingual learners—especially the long-term ones who have been in our schools for a while. These students work hard. They show up. They do their assignments. But the language demands inside those assignments are often completely hidden from them. And when the language is inaccessable, progress stalls. This doesnt happen because students aren’t capable, but because the structure they need simply isn’t there. Most o